Quanam joins the Board of UNESCO’s Business Council for the Ethics of AI in Uruguay
Quanam’s Chief Compliance Officer takes on Vice President role in UNESCO’s first national AI Ethics Business Council in Latin America.
José C. Nordmann, Chief Compliance Officer at Quanam, has been elected Vice President of the Business Council for the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Uruguay Chapter. Backed by UNESCO and driven by leading private sector companies, the Council positions Uruguay as the region’s pilot model for responsible AI governance, with a hands-on agenda to make AI ethics a standard business practice across Latin America.
In March 2026, the Business Council for the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Uruguay Chapter officially seated its Board of Directors, marking the transition from planning to execution. José C. Nordmann, Chief Compliance Officer at Quanam, was elected Vice President. The Board brings together senior leaders from CUTI (Carlos Acle, President), Tigo Uruguay (Leticia Lago), Microsoft (Elianne Elbaum), and ANTEL (Juan Pablo Pignataro).
Uruguay was handpicked by UNESCO as the pilot country for this governance model in Latin America, with a clear mandate to scale it across the region.
What the Council is and why it matters
The Business Council for the Ethics of AI is a UNESCO-led initiative that convenes companies at the forefront of AI development and adoption. Its mission: drive best practices, build technical expertise in AI ethics, and shape the regional regulatory landscape so that artificial intelligence advances in a way that respects human rights and international standards. Globally, the Council is co-chaired by Microsoft and Telefónica, with members including Salesforce, Lenovo, Grupo Bimbo, and Telstra, among others.
The Uruguay Chapter is the first nationally chartered chapter in Latin America and it doesn’t stand alone. UNESCO and CAF have been providing technical support to seven countries across the region, including Uruguay, to help governments develop sound AI policies and governance frameworks.
What’s on the agenda for 2026
The Uruguay Chapter’s 2026 roadmap is built around three priorities: embedding AI ethics into everyday business practice, scaling AI literacy and capacity across organizations and the professional workforce, and establishing Uruguay as the go-to regional benchmark for responsible AI governance. To that end, the Council will be represented at two major international forums: the Regional Summit of Senior Authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean (June, Dominican Republic) and the UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI 2026 (September, Riyadh).
How Quanam got here
The company was part of the foundational exploratory meeting that set the Uruguay Chapter in motion, with three distinct perspectives represented: José C. Nordmann on ethics and compliance; Guillermo Spinelli, Partner and CEO of Data & AI, on organizational AI adoption; and Gustavo Mesa, Data Governance and Management Specialist, on data governance as the backbone of responsible AI.
Nordmann’s election as Vice President places Quanam at the center of a conversation that will shape how businesses across Latin America develop, adopt, and govern artificial intelligence for years to come.